I can only say that Zhao Douan's originally bad image at ho has now been completely reversed.
"Alright, go ahead." Zhao Douan put on his coat, chased away the servant, and went to the dining hall.
He saw his stepmother and sister waiting there, You Jinhua was instructing a house servant about sothing.
Seeing him coming, she smiled from ear to ear, eagerly ca forward, and noticed his casually worn thin coat. She reached out to tighten his open lapel and said,
"It's cool like this, you should wear more when practicing martial arts, sweating makes it easy to catch a cold."
Perhaps because his cultivation had progressed, Zhao Douan had grown taller recently. This was not so noticeable when wearing robes, as he still maintained the elegant, gentle deanor of a young master.
But wearing only a thin coat gave him sowhat of a "robust" appearance.
Especially compared to the woman in front of him adjusting his clothes, it was even more evident.
Straight-backed, sitting beside the table, Zhao Pan was tearing a persimmon with her fingers and said with a pout,
"Mother, with brother's current level of cultivation, he's no longer afraid of the cold."
Yes, that was what Zhao Douan had told her the night before; now, as the young girl retold it, she felt mysteriously good, sharing a little secret unknown to her mother.
Zhao Douan smiled, took his seat, and just as Zhao Pan finished peeling the last of the persimmon, she reached out her dewy hand and passed it over, smiling,
"Brother, have a persimoon, freshly picked from the tree yesterday."
When he was on a business trip to Taicang Prefecture, he had missed the Mid-Autumn Festival. Now, in the Capital, leaves were falling, decorating the persimmon trees with fiery, red ripe fruits.
Like lanterns.
Zhao Douan took the persimmon, thanked her, took a bite, tasting the sweet juice mixed with a hint of astringency, and laughed,
"It's a good on, it seems sothing good 'shi' (persimmon) will happen today."
...
After breakfast, Zhao Douan walked out of the house where the coachman, Little Wang, was already waiting outside.
On the way to the governnt office, the autumn wind brushed through the alleys, whirling dead leaves across the ground, revealing the splendor of withering branches.
An unexplainable pressure weighed heavily on his heart.
This peculiar foreboding reached its peak after he arrived at the governnt office.
"What's everyone gathered here for? Have you checked in?"
Upon entering Lihua Hall, Zhao Douan saw a group of Jinyi gathered together, discussing sothing with an odd atmosphere.
"Sir? You've arrived," the young secretary, Qian Kerou, turned around, her round face lacking its usual smile, instead adorned with a cool autumn severity, and a complex look in her eyes,
"Please, go to Governor Hall. The Lord has ordered that all Masters from each office should head there."
Zhao Douan was stunned, wanting to ask what had happened, but the words rolled back into his throat; he nodded and said, "Alright."
He turned towards Governor Hall, encountering Jinyi Captains along the way, all wearing troubled expressions, gathering in groups whispering, contributing to the somber atmosphere throughout the governnt office.
When Zhao Douan stepped into Governor Hall, he saw that many people were already there, Ma Yan, Haitang, Zhang Han, and other acquaintances, all seated.
"Lord, you wanted to see ?" Zhao Douan inquired.
Ma Yan, with his thin long face looking serious, motioned for him to sit, then asked, "Did you know?"
Know what... Why has everyone turned into a riddler... Zhao Douan shook his head.
Ma Yan pointed at an invitation-like object in the middle of the table,
"This appeared on the front door of the governnt office this morning."
Next, Haitang solemnly added,
"It's not just our Imperial Court. The Six Ministries, Imperial Court of Supervision... several other key governnt offices also found the sa things, all containing identical content."
Zhao Douan reached out, picked up the invitation, unfolded it with both hands, and saw that on the red paper, written with a black brush were four large characters:
"I have returned."
Other than that, there was just a signature area featuring a square seal, centered around a black eye with decorative patterns surrounding it.
Zhao Douan was surprised, the seal looked sowhat familiar, yet he couldn't recall where from, so he set down the invitation, puzzled, "What is this?"
"You don't know?" the brisk female detective with a high ponytail and a teardrop mole by her eye corner was startled, then smacked her forehead, annoyed,
"Now I rember, you used to be just an unknown soldier in the imperial guard, it's not strange that you don't recognize the seal. But if ntioned the owner of the seal, you certainly know."
Across from him, Zhang Han with his stoic face calmly stated, "The State Preceptor. It's that dead demon path State Preceptor who has returned."
Zhao Douan froze, initially confused, then mories belonging to his original self burst forth.
State Preceptor!
He certainly knew the na, and it was a very well-known one!
Back when the Old Emperor was in power, Zhao Douan was just a minor soldier, serving in the palace due to his low status and never daring to approach the nobles.
But he also had so faint knowledge that, a few years before the Old Emperor's demise, sensing his limited lifespan, he had beco fervent about thods to prolong life.
He consud many Pills from Heavenly Master Mansion and dicinal herbs from Divine Dragon Temple.
But as human fate would have it, one can hardly cling to life against nature's course, suspecting that the Heavenly Master Mansion and Divine Dragon Temple, to balance imperial power, treated him perfunctorily and were unwilling to exert themselves.
Thus, he sent people to search in Jianghu for skilled Alchemists.
The State Preceptor was one of those who had been brought into the palace at that ti, at that ti he claid to be an unnad Alchemist from Jianghu, his abilities deriving from gods beyond the borders of the Great Yu Kingdom. Although unable to alter fate, he could extend one's life.
By that ti, the Old Emperor was already plagued by illness, desperately seeking any dical treatnt; many Alchemists who had been summoned prior were unable to help.
The unnad Alchemist took action, and just over one night, he rejuvenated the Old Emperor.
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